Can feeding and righting machine.



M. D. BLAKESLEE, CAN FEEDING AND-RIGHTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 0GT.15, 1907.

Patented Sept. 14, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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M 1). BLAKESL'EB. CAN FEEDI NG AND RIGHTING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED '00T.15, 1907.

934,134., I Pzltented Sept.14,1909.

I 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 721/ 2220;". Zl/Z'inesses. g? 22' MM I To all whom it may concern:

UNITED. stra ns ram es.

ivrnm'on n. BLAKESL'EE, or cAzENovIA, NEW You:

CAN FEEDING AND RIGHTING MACHINE.

- Application filed ctober'15, 1907. Serial No. 397,533.

Be it known that l, MERTON D. BLAKESLEE, of Cazenovia, in the county of Madison, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in (Jan Feeding and ltighting Machines, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description. v

This invention relates to certain improvements in can righting machines of the class set forth in my application Serial No. 360,660, filed March 5, 1907, and allowed July 24:, 1907, and'refers more particularly to the means for advancingthe cans one by one into position to be engaged and righted by the opposite rotating rig tin fingers.

..My ob ect, therefore, is to provide the mavghine with a drum or a pair of coaxial rotary can receiving and feeding elements by which the cans are positively spaced and fed one at a time between and inposition to be engaged by the rightin fingers, thereby avoid ng the use of under ying spring supports and delicate mechanisms which are susceptible to injury by misuse in the hands of unskilled o erators.

A: further 0 ject is toprovide a suitable stop mechanism which is positively driven from one of the righting finger shafts and is used in connection with aslip feed 'driving' mechanism or .friction clutch between the pulley and main driving shaft for the purpose of stopping the feeding of the cans should they become congested in the chute:

into which the righted cans are deposited.

"partly n section, of a can righting machine embodylng the various features of my nvenf Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the can rightof parallel shafts -1 and Other objects and uses relating to the specific parts of the mechanisms will be brought out in the following description.

.. in the drawings-Figure 1 is a top plan,

tion. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same.

ing mechanism showing the lower end of the chute in section and omitting the infeeding cen'gu'ide. Fig. 4 is an end view of onof the can-feeling and spacing disks showing the shaft in section.

' 'ln-carrying out the objects stated, a pair -2 are mounted side by side a suitable distance apart upon the supporting frame 3 and tire provided with intermeshirig ears -+4,

whereb motion is iZILIlSIIllttG from the main riving shaft 1-- to the opposed Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented-Sept. 14, 1909.

. shaft 2, said driving shaft 1- being provided with a sli feed drivin mechanism, consisting in t is instance, of a loose pulley 5 having a friction face '--6 co-ac-ting with a. clutch member 7- which is keyed to, .but movable axially upon the driving shaft and is held in active engagement with the friction face 6-'=-. by means of a coil-spring 8. This coil-spring encircles the shaft--1 and is interposed between a tight collar 9 and the adjacent or outer-end face of the clutch section 7, the pressure of the spring beinqsuiiicient to drive'the righting'mechanism hereinafter described, but if the cans become congested in the chute, the righting mechanism including the clutch member 7 may stop and still permit the pulley -5- to be revolved by its driving belt, not shown. This pulley is interposed between the clutch member -7 and a collar 10 rigid onthe shaft -1% so as to limit the endwise movement of the pulley 5-.

. The shafts 1 and 2-- are located a distance apart somewhat greater than the length of the can so as to, permit said cans to be fedor rolledalong a suitable inclined I track or guide-way -11-, which is located in a plane substantially midwa between the shafts 1- and -2'- and s adapted disks 12- by which These-can righting elements 15 1 disks 12- and back of the chute 13-- so as to bring the righting device substantially axial of the cans.

Each righting device preferably com prises a hub 18 which is secured to its'shaft and provided with diametrically opposite arms or fingers 19 which are curved opposite to the direction of rotation and their free ends are adapted to engage or enter the opening in the ends of the can. These righting devices l5- are adjusted so that the free ends of the co-acting,fingers are always at similar points in their circles of movement and owing to the fact that the shafts 1 and 2 are parallel the coacting pairs of fingers wardly, it is evident that the simultaneous revolve toward each other from the top downwardly, and when such free ends are in the same diametric'al lane the distance between them issomew at shorter than the length of the can so that one finger will engage the bottomfof the can and move' such can endwise to' cause the other finger to enter a a slight distance into the, opening inthe "top thereof, and since the fingers rotate in the same direction as the cans are feddowna'vitation of the cans, together with the ownward movement of the inner fingers, theto of the can will be temporarily supportetfupon'the finger which enters its openmgfltherb allowing the'bottom to ravitate downwar y, in WhlCh position it alls into the chute 13 after freeing'itself from the finger which temporarily held it, the latter operation being accomplished by the con- 2 tmued rotation of the holding finger.

The essential feature, however, of my 'pre'sentinvention lies in the construction and operation of the disks l2 which are mounted upon atransverse shaft 13- in substantially the same plane as the shafts 1-- and .2 and is driven from the shaft 1- by intermeshing'gea'rs 201 so that the rotation of the shaft 13 is synchronized with the movement of the righting fin ers 15v-.

- These disks are located substantial y central with reference to thecan guide 11- and center of the chute 13 and are spaced apart a less distance than the length 0 the can, but a su flicient distance to receive and temporarily hold the can against tilting movement while such can is being fed forwardly into position to be engaged by the righting fingers 19-. g u I As best seen in Fig. 4', the can spacing and feeding drum consisting of the dlsks 12- is rarily support this end of 'the can while the opposite end is free to ravitate downwardly right side up and fall rom its holding finger into the underlying chute 13, which latter is just large enough to permit'the cans to fall endw1se therethrough without undue friction. v

The cans are fed promiscuously with respect to their open ends into any suitable chute, as an inclinedide 11- located in such manner, that t e advance can will readily ride i pon one of the ,cancave faces .or seats -22- of the spacing and feeding drum -12-, such concave seats'being' sue-1" cessively' presented to the cans as fast as they are deposited or 'fed forwardly into position to be engaged by the righting fin ers.19, asbest seen in Fig. 2. That is, 3911116 one sideof the feeding and spacing drum is placing a can into a position to be' righted by the righting fingers, the next succeeding seatis in ositlon to receive vthenext succeeding can, w ich' in turn, is carried forward in the same manner to the righting fingers and the next succeeding conc'ave seat is similarly brou ht into position to receive and carry forwar the next or third can, arid,

and brought into an upright position in the so so on, indefinitely until the desired of cans are fldV QIICBd to the righting device,

chute 13-, It is evident from the foregoing ,1

description that this action of advancing and righting the cans one by one is continuous Without interruption-in the o eration of any part of the mechanism an that the open end of the can may be'presented to either of the co-actingrrghting fingers with the result that in either case the cans will be temporarilysupfported and brought right side up by 'suchf ngcrs and ill S1101)- position deposited into the chute,13 9s? through-which the righted cans successively' gravitate and may be continuously removed as fast as they accumulate by any well known conveying means, not necessary to' herein illustrate "or describe.

If for any reason, as is sometimes the case, the cans become congested in the chute 13-, or rather are deposited into such chute I faster than they are carried away, it is desirable to provide some means for temporarily stopping the righting mechanism un til the congested cans are-removed, and it is preferable to have this action automatic, and

for this purpose I provide a rotary sweep -25 having diametrically opposite arms secured to a revolving shaft -26-, the latterbeing .driven by a sprocket chain -27-- v from the shaft 2. The fingers of this sweep 25 travel through a suitable slot -28-- in the side of the chute -13- some distance belowiits upper receiving end and its operation is synchronized with that of the can righting mechanism in such manner that the fingers will be out of the path of each falling can at the time that it is discharged from the righting fingers, but immediately enters the chute after such can has passed so that if the cans become congested or accumulate in the chute sufiic'ient-to extend into the path of movement of the arms ofthe stopping de. vice -25, the arm which is sweeping transversely of the chute will simply engage and be checked in its rotation by said accumulated cans, thereby stopping the action of the righting and feeding device until the congested cans are removed, whereupon the mechanism, a pair of co-acting rotary fingers anism therewith.

between said axes and having one by one to the righting device, and means action of the-righting and feeding devices will be automatically resumed. What I claim is:

1. In a can-feeding and righting machine, a pair of co-acting rotary righting fingers revolving on separate parallel axes and a rotary feeding drumbetween the axes of revolution of said fingers and having concave-seats for receiving and feeding the cans to and between the righting fingers.

2. In combination with acan-righting mechanism having arms rotating on separate parallel axes, a can spacin and feeding device consisting of a rotary di'um midway concave seats for the cans and whereby. the cans are fed for feeding the cans consecutively upon said seats.

3. In combination with a can-righting revolving on separate parallel axes for en-, gaging the opposite ends of the cans, and a rotary can support between said axes for receiving and feeding the cans one by one between the righting fingers.

4:. In combination with a can righting mechanism having opposite pairs of fingers revolving on separate parallel axes, of a rotary can-feeding and spacing mechanism same plane as the first named axes for feed-- ing the cans one by one to thefrightin mechanism, means for actuating one of sai mechanisms, and further means for synchronizing the movement of the other mech- 5. In 'combination with a canrighting mechanism and a slip feed driving mechanism therefor, a chute-for therighted cans, a rotary stop revolving in the chute and synchronized with the movement of the can righting mechanism and a rotary can feeding device synchronized with the movement of the righting mechanism for feeding the cans to said righting mechanism.

6. In combination with a can righting mechanism comprising two parallel shafts spaced apart and each having a pair of radial arnis rotating in the same plane, a slip-feed driving device on one of the shafts and a rotary can-feeding device between and actuated by one of said shafts for feeding the cans one by one to' the righting mechanism. I

7 In a can-feeding and righting machine, l the combination with opposed rotary can righting fingers for engaging or entering the ends of the cans, of rotary means bel tween the axes of rotation of said fingers for spacing and feeding the cans one .by one in the position to be operated upon by said fingers,

8. In a can-feeding and righting machine,

a pair of opposed rotary can righting elements, in combination with a rotary drum having its axis disposed at right angles to those of the righting elements and its periphery provided with concave can seats for temporarily supporting the cans and carrying them forward one by one between saidv elements, and means for feeding the cans successively into said can seats.

9. In a can feeding and righting mechanism, a pair of parallel shafts each having a air of diametrically opposite radial fingers, those of one pair traveling in substantially the same transverse plane as those of the other' pair, means for synchronizing the movement of said shaft, an additional shaft disposed. at substantially right angles to and synchronized with the movement of the first named shafts and a rotary can spacing and feeding device mounted on the last named shaft in a plane between the axes of the first named shafts for feeding the cans one by one in a osition to be engaged by co-acting fingers o the first named shafts, and additional means for feeding the cans to the spacing and feeding means.

10. In a can feeding and righting mechanism, a' pair of parallel shafts having radial projectmg righting fingers traveling in substantially the same transverse plane, gears connecting said shafts, a driving pulley loose on one of the shafts and -provided.with a friction face, a friction clutch member slidable upon but keyed'to the last named. pulley-shaft and normally spring pressed into engagement with said friction plates for produclng a slip feed driving mechanism, rotary means for feeding the cans one by one between said shafts and 1n a position to be engaged by said fingers, means for transmittlng motion from one of the shafts to the rotary feeding means, a chute for receiving the righted cans as they are discharged from 

